Disorganizing China : Counter-Bureaucracy and the Decline of Socialism / Eddy U.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

U, Eddy, Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (296 p.) : 11 tables

Place of Publication:

Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

This book offers a new interpretation of socialism and its failure in the last century, and takes on the conventional view that socialist China and other Soviet-type societies represented the domination of bureaucracy. Using a wealth of original archival sources, interview data, and comparative material, Eddy U argues that these societies were not bureaucratic enough. The ruling regimes established a form of workplace administration that is the antithesis of modern bureaucratic organization. Because the workplace lacked rational rules and practices, Soviet-type societies were marred by technical inefficiency, political resentment, and social friction. But U does not merely expose workplace disorganization in Soviet-type societies; his theoretically and empirically grounded research raises questions about the contention that socialism has been proven unworkable. He concludes that strengthening the rational capacity of the state may still be the key to improving social and economic justice.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Tables

Preface and Acknowledgments

1 Socialism and Counter-Bureaucracy

2 Shortages of Expertise

3 Political Domination and Its Discontents

4 Income Inequities

5 The House of Deviants

6 Campuses in Distress

7 Unsustainable Socialist Systems

8 Rethinking Socialism

Appendix: Backgrounds of Informants

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 31. Jan 2022)

ISBN:

1-5036-2670-9

OCLC:

1294424092